AT&T pays $3.5M to settle Pa. woman’s lawsuit

PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Pennsylvania woman who said AT&T improperly billed the government for millions of dollars in services has settled a federal lawsuit.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1bfZq38) reported Tuesday that AT&T Corp. paid $3.5 million to settle the case though the company still denies wrongdoing.

The case was filed in 2010 by Constance Lyttle, a former AT&T employee from western Pennsylvania. She said she was fired because she sought to prevent international con artists from using a service for the hearing impaired.

The Department of Justice later joined the case, alleging the company improperly billed the government for services designed for use by the deaf and hard of hearing who place phone calls by typing messages over the Internet.